Adjustable mechanical stop for a food baking apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a system and method for improvingly controlling the production of food products from granular raw materials such as for instance cereal rice formed into crackers. More in particular, the invention relates to an adjustable mechanical stop mechanism for better controlling the distance between the dies where pressure-baking of food occurs, and to provide the possibility of adjustable distance between the dies in case of multiple compressions of the food material, for which different die spacings can then be installed, leading to very repeatable and unchanging food processing conditions and thus an improved and much more constant quality of end product such as a cracker.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is filed under 35 U.S.C. § 111 and claims the benefitof priority under 35 U.S.C. §§ 119 (a)-(d) to Belgian Patent ApplicationNo. BE2018/5198, filed Mar. 23, 2018, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a system and method for improvingly controllingthe production of food products from granular raw materials such ascereal rice, corn or the like and mixtures thereof, or from starchymaterials like grains or pellets or a mixture thereof, optionally mixedwith crushed grain material, or with other inclusions of less starchynature, which are formed into crackers, chips or shaped end-products ingeneral. More in particular the invention relates to an improved systemand method for carrying out a method of producing a cracker fromcereals, which are pressure-baked in a heated mold and expandedafterwards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Systems and apparatuses are currently on the market to form starchymaterials into finished crackers, chips, cakes or the like forms. Ingeneral they all use the principle of dosing a certain volume ofgranular raw materials in a kind of chamber that is subsequently closed,and wherein then the materials are compressed in between heated dies ormolds, causing the materials who do contain a certain amount of water toplastify under heat and pressure. After one or several compressions, thedies are opened up and the materials will expand into a stable shape,which may be very regular or rather irregular and will have differenttextures and expansion degrees depending on its final purpose.

During the food baking process mentioned, it is always necessary toprevent the plastified material, being in a kind of semi-liquid state asa result of heat, pressure and moisture, from escaping through thenarrow gaps, which are for technical reasons always present in theclosed chamber. According to the art, preventing the plastified materialfrom escaping through the narrow chamber gaps is achieved in severalpossible ways, or as a combination thereof. Either the applied pressureis restricted within a certain range or below a particular value, sothat there is always insufficient pressure for the dies to touch eachother. Only in case the pressure is such that the dies do touch eachother, the plastified material is forced out of the closed chamber.Preventing the plastified material from escaping the chamber may alsoresult when the time for applying the pressure is controlled in such away that it is kept limited so that the dies will never touch eachother. Further alternatively, a mechanical stop can be providedpreventing the dies from touching each other, and thus there is always adistance remaining between the dies. Hence, again the plastifiedmaterial is not forced out of the closed chamber. An example of such amechanical stop is depicted in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, part of a food baking apparatus as known in the artis illustrated. In particular, a drive system 10 is depicted, comprisingof hydraulic cylinders 11, 12 and a drive shaft 14. At the left side thehydraulic drive system 10 is connected via the drive shaft 14 to atransmission member 15, which is in the form of a two-arm joint havingan upper arm 16 rotatably connected to a moveable punch 18 and a lowerarm 17 rotatably connected to the apparatus frame 13. When the punch 18is raised by hydraulically pushing transmission member 15 towards a nearvertical alignment of the upper and lower arm 16, 17, the end of thecompression stroke, i.e. the top position of the punch inside the dies(not shown) is defined by a mechanical stop 19 comprising of bolts 20,21, which stop the hydraulic drive.

Finally, the stroke of the driving parts for making the dies move, isfor example limited such that it is impossible for the dies to toucheach other. Another kind of mechanical stop is herewith determined, i.e.the end of the stroke of the driving parts.

In any of the described ways of preventing of forcing the plastifiedmaterial out of the closed chamber, there is very little control andtherefor it remains extremely difficult to reach the exact product orcracker with desired structure, texture and crispness, unless by meansof continuous trial and error.

Moreover, there is no controlled adjustability for the distance ingeneral between the dies. In other words, fine-tuning for an appropriaterelative position of the dies amongst each other, when performingpressure baking, is not an easy process. There is a need for system andmethod for controlling cracker or chips production comprising eithermultiple compressions, or else for which applying a partial press isrequired.

AIM OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the invention is to provide a better and more accurate way ofcontrolling the process of food pressure baking. More in particular, theaim is to better control the distance between the dies, where in betweena food product is baked, and to provide the possibility of an adjustabledistance between the dies in case of multiple compressions of the foodmaterial, for which for example adjustable die spacings or different diespacings can then be installed, leading to very repeatable andunchanging food processing conditions and thus an improved and much moreconstant quality of end product such as a cracker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention an adjustable mechanical stop isprovided, for controlling the distance between a first and a second die,also referred to as die spacing, of a food baking apparatus, comprisinga supporting system and at least one mounting element mounted onto thesupporting system, wherein the supporting system and/or the at least onemounting element are adjustable in spatial position, being movable fortranslation and/or rotation; and wherein each mounting element comprisesone or more protrusions, and wherein per mounting element the one ormore protrusions are adjustable in amount of protrusion, and/or theprotrusions differ in amount of protrusion amongst each other. Inbetween the die spacing, a to be baked food product is provided beforethe food baking process starts. Having finished the food baking process,the food product in between the de spacing usually will have changedstructure and appearance while then having been baked. The mechanicalstop being adjustable means that the installation or settings can bechanged, such that the stop mechanism for instance may occur later orsooner in time when a drive system is approaching it. As an example, themechanical stop mechanism can be applied to stop the hydraulic drive ofa food baking apparatus. According to an embodiment, the adjustablemechanical stop is provided at the end of a hydraulic or pneumatic drivesystem such that the hydraulic or pneumatic drive mechanism iscontrolled during a food baking process. According to a particularembodiment, such control is performed during the food baking process ofone single food product, and hence the baking of this single foodproduct is manipulated in a controlled way during the food bakingprocess. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, suchmanipulation is often also referred to as applying and/or controllingdouble or multiple compression, which in fact may directly result fromcontrolling the die spacing where in between the food product isprovided for being baked. The protrusions being adjustable in amount ofprotrusion implicates the protrusions being movable, i.e. not fixed tothe one or more mounting elements. However, in case the protrusiondiffer in amount of protrusion amongst each other, it is also possiblethat the protrusions are fixed to the one or more mounting elements.According to an embodiment, it may seem that the protrusions being fixedto the one or more mounting elements form one entity, i.e. that theprotrusions are seamlessly integrated with the one or more mountingelements.

The supporting system can be a plate or a disk or a platform onto whichother elements can be mounted. The supporting system can be fixedinstalled on the apparatus frame or either movable in a certaindirection. According to an embodiment, the supporting system isrotatable around an axis being parallel with the direction of theprotrusions of the one or more mounting elements mounted onto thesupporting system, herewith changing radial position of the one or moremounting elements, and hence the radial position of the protrusions withrespect to the axis. More in particular, according to furtherembodiment, the supporting system is a circularly shaped plate or diskand can be rotated around its central axis.

The one or more mounting elements onto the supporting system can befixed installed or are either randomly movable, i.e. in differentpositions on the supporting system. According to an embodiment of theinvention, the one or more mounting elements comprise per mountingelement at least two protrusions, differing in amount of protrusionamongst each other, and these one or more mounting elements are movablealong an axis being perpendicular to the protrusions of the one or moremounting elements, herewith shifting the one or more mounting elementstowards another position. More in particular, according to furtherembodiment, the one or more mounting elements can be shifted ortranslated within corresponding recesses provided in the supportingsystem such as for instance a supporting platform, e.g. along an axisperpendicular to the direction of the protrusions provided onto orprotruding from the mounting elements. One or more protrusions can beprovided onto each of the one or more mounting elements, whereas theprotrusion length of these protrusions can vary amongst each other. Theprotrusions can be for example bolts or rod-shaped. Moreover, theprotrusion length of these protrusions can be adjustable, e.g. by meansof letting these protrusions protrude more or less from the mountingelements, such as for example by means of screwing the protrusionsdeeper or less deep within their corresponding mounting elements.Adjusting the protrusion length of the protrusions can occur manually,or either can be performed in a motorized way.

It is noted that the mounting elements are mounted either in a fixedway, and for example being attached to the supporting system, or elsethe mounting elements are movably mounted onto the supporting system.With movably mounted is meant for instance that a guiding (rail) systemor slot system is provided, such that the mounting elements are althoughbeing linked or connected to the supporting system, can be easilydisplaced by e.g. a translation or rotation movement, for which themechanical configuration is furnished. In other words, it may seem thatthe mounting elements are rather pending or hanging on the supportingsystem because of their movability as foreseen.

Movement of the supporting system and/or the one or more mountingelements can be performed manually, or by means of a mechanical,electrical, pneumatic or hydraulically driven system.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the adjustable mechanicalstop comprises a supporting system, being plate-shaped and rotatablearound a central axis perpendicular to the plate surface, and at leasttwo mounting elements mounted onto the supporting system. Moreover themounting elements are even in number, and mounted onto the supportingsystem per pair in a circular symmetric manner. More in particular,according to further embodiment, each pair of mounting elementscomprises a first mounting element comprising a first protrusion and asecond mounting element comprising a second protrusion, and wherein thefirst mounting element and hence corresponding first protrusion ispositioned diametrically opposite to the second mounting element andtherefor corresponding second protrusion. The protrusions of themounting elements may differ in amount of protrusion per pair ofmounting elements.

In a second aspect of the invention a food baking apparatus is provided,comprising an adjustable mechanical stop in accordance with the firstaspect. More in particular the food baking apparatus is for instanceconfigured for producing crackers, chips or the like from cereals orgranular raw materials in general, which are pressure-baked betweenheated dies and expanded afterwards.

In a third aspect of the invention a method is provided for controllingthe die spacing of a food baking apparatus, comprising the steps of (i)providing an adjustable mechanical stop according to the first aspect;(ii) putting the supporting system and/or the one or more mountingelements in a first position; (iii) driving the supporting system and/orthe one or more mounting elements towards a second position. In betweenthe die spacing, i.e. the distance or space between a first and a seconddie, a food product is being laid or provided, wherein such food productis before applying the method in accordance with third aspect, whilemeaning before the food baking process, in a still unbaked status. Bymeans of example, the still unbaked status can be for instance that thefood product appears as raw cereal, or dough, whereas after the foodbaking process, during which the method in accordance with third aspectis applied, the food product rather appears e.g. as a chip, or cracker.Possibly before step (ii) an intermediate step is foreseen, wherein permounting element the one or more protrusions are adjusted in amount ofprotrusion. According to an embodiment, the method further comprisesadditional steps of driving the supporting system and/or the one or moremounting elements towards an even further position than second position.Multiple different positions may be available or configurable dependingon the architecture and design of the supporting system and/or the oneor more mounting elements. By means of example, in an embodiment ndifferent positions are provided, wherein n is an integer number. Hence,driving the supporting system and/or the one or more mounting elementsfrom the first to the n-th position can be executed. According to anembodiment, the method is applied during one and the same food bakingprocess for baking one single food product, as being provided in betweenthe die spacing. In other words, the die spacing is then controlledduring the baking process of one single food product. Or, as aconsequence, double or multiple compression can be controlled duringthis one single food product baking process, and hence resulting incontrolled food processing with improved and much more constant qualityof baked food product.

In a fourth aspect of the invention a food baking process is providedbased on double or multiple compression, the process comprising the stepof providing an adjustable mechanical stop according to the firstaspect, for controlling the distance between a first die and a seconddie of a food baking apparatus, and herewith controlling the double ormultiple compression. With multiple is meant here more than double, i.e.for example triple or quadruple or even a higher multiplication isapplied.

In a fifth aspect of the invention crackers, chips or the like are madeby means of a food baking process in accordance with the fourth aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a mechanical stop of a food baking apparatus inaccordance with the art.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of an adjustable mechanical stop for afood baking apparatus in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an adjustable mechanical stop foranother food baking apparatus in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically enlarged version of an embodiment of anadjustable mechanical stop for a food baking apparatus in accordancewith the invention, as of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a solution for providing a better and moreaccurate way of controlling the distance between the dies, i.e. themutual die distance, of a food baking apparatus. More in particular, asystem is provided to obtain an accurate and repeatable way ofcontrolling the die distance. Further, with the invention thepossibility is offered of having different installable die distances incase of multiple compressions of the food ingredient such as forinstance rice or other granular raw material. Very repeatable andunchanging processing conditions are herewith achieved, and thus anenhanced and much more constant quality of end product, being forexample a cracker or chip, is reached. Due to the entered control of thedie distance, disturbing factors having an influence thereon can beeliminated, being for instance moisture content (and thus liquidity inthe compressed status) of the food materials, temperature changes offood materials and/or dies, changes in response time of pneumatic,electrical, electronic or hydraulic components etc. Hence, with theinvention, a system is provided to eliminate disturbing and varyingfactors and their influence on the die distance, and thus reducingvarying processing conditions leading to irregular or unwanted endproducts. Moreover, it becomes possible to avoid so-calledover-compression in a very repeatable way of certain food materials likefor instance oily seeds where often too much oil is being pressed out asa result of heat and pressure.

In FIG. 2, part of a food baking apparatus is illustrated for some partscomparable with FIG. 1, particularly with respect to the hydraulic drivesystem. Again, a drive system 100 is depicted, comprising of hydrauliccylinders 110, 120 and a drive shaft 140. The hydraulic drive system 100is here also connected to a transmission member 150, having an upper arm160 and a lower arm 170. Raising the punch by hydraulically pushingtransmission member 150 towards a near vertical alignment of the upperand lower arm 160, 170, the end of the compression stroke, i.e. the topposition of the punch inside the dies (not shown), is now defined by theinstallation and settings of a mechanical adjustable stop 200, beingable to stop the hydraulic drive in different ways, depending onselected configuration, hereinafter also referred to as drive stopper,more in particular here referred to as horizontal drive stopper. Withthe design and positioning of mechanical adjustable stop 200, the drivesystem 100 is stopped along a more or less horizontal direction, i.e.more or less parallel with the cylindrical rods 110, 120 of thehydraulic drive system 100. In other words, the horizontal stopper isacting along a (more or less) horizontal direction. By means of theadjustable mechanical stop 200, the stroke of the driving parts formaking the dies move is now controlled, or in other words, the diespacing or distance between the dies can be manipulated in a controlledway. The adjustable mechanical stop 200 comprises of a supportingsystem, in this instance a plate or disk 210, onto which mountingelements are mounted, in this instance nut-shaped elements 220, 230,240, 250, out of which protrusions, in this example bolts areprotruding. According to this design, four nut-shaped mounting elementsare pairwise provided onto a circular supporting system, in a circularsymmetric manner, whereas other designs may also occur in accordancewith the invention, wherein more or less nut-shaped mounting elementswith bolts (protrusions) accordingly are present. For two of thenut-shaped mounting elements 220, 230 the corresponding protruding bolts221, 231 are visible in FIG. 2, whereas the bolts of the other twonut-shaped mounting elements 240, 250 are hidden behind the upper arm160 of the transmission member 150.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the adjustable mechanical stop 200 of theembodiment of FIG. 2 is represented more schematically in front view andin an enlarged format. As shown, all protruding bolts 221, 231, 241, 251of respective nut-shaped mounting elements 220, 230, 240, 250 aredisplayed now. The amount of protrusion can differ amongst nut-shapedmounting elements 220, 230, 240, 250 and is in fact installable oradjustable by means of more or less screwing the bolts 221, 231, 241,251 in the nut-shaped mounting elements 220, 230, 240, 250. Thisscrewing can be done either manually, or else for example anelectromotor is coupled for driving the bolts 221, 231, 241, 251 more inor out of the nut-shaped elements 220, 230, 240, 250. The supportingplate or disk 210 is circularly shaped having a central axis A beingperpendicular to the plane of the drawing of FIG. 4. The bolts 221, 231,241, 251 are rod-shaped and have their longitudinal axis alsoperpendicular to FIG. 4, hence being parallel with the axis A. Thenut-shaped mounting elements 220, 230, 240, 250 are positioned onto thedisk shaped supporting system 210 in a circular symmetric manner. Morein particular, the four nut-shaped mounting elements 220, 230, 240, 250are each of them lying on one of the axes Q1, Q2 forming quadrants. Infact, the nut-shaped mounting elements 220, 230, 240, 250 are lying perpair onto one of the axes Q1, Q2, i.e. onto the axis Q1 nut-shapedmounting elements 220, 240 are positioned, whereas onto the axis Q2nut-shaped mounting elements 230, 250 can be seen. The respectiveprotruding bolts 221, 241 of nut-shapes 220, 240 pair and correspondingbolts 231, 251 of nut-shapes 230, 250 pair are also lying ontocorresponding axes Q1, Q2 respectively. The nut-shaped mounting elements220, 230, 240, 250 are thus together with their respective bolts 221,231, 241, 251 lying per pair onto a common disk diameter. In otherwords, a first pair of nut-shapes and bolts is formed by nut-shapedmounting elements 220, 240, and their corresponding bolts 221, 241,while a second pair is formed by nut-shaped mounting elements 230, 250,and their corresponding bolts 231, 251. According to an embodiment, whena pair of nut-shaped mounting elements and respective bolts ispositioned horizontally along the axis Q2, it will act as mechanicalstop for the food baking apparatus, more in particular it will enablestopping the hydraulic drive of the apparatus. Even more in particular,the protruding bolts 231, 251 will determine the end stroke of the drivesystem 100, when touching the upper arm 160 of the transmission member150 whenever pushed towards near vertical alignment of the arms.According to a further embodiment, the amount of protrusion of the boltsis the same per pair, meaning that here e.g. the bolts 221, 241 from thefirst pair are protruding with the same amount, whereas the bolts 231,251 from the second pair are also protruding with the same amount,although the amount of protrusion may differ from pair to pair. Thesupporting plate or disk 210 can be rotated around its central axis A,either manually, or else motor driven. This way, the nut-shaped mountingelements 220, 230, 240, 250 and their corresponding bolts 221, 231, 241,251 can change in radial position. This way another pair may be selectedinto horizontal position for acting as stop for the hydraulic drivesystem 100. As depicted in FIG. 4, the second pair of nut-shapedmounting elements 230, 250 and respective bolts 231, 251 are inhorizontal position along the axis Q2, and hence acting here as selectedstop mechanism. When turning the supporting plate or disk 210 for 90° tothe right, or in clockwise direction, around its central axis A, thefirst pair of nut-shaped mounting elements 220, 240 and correspondingbolts 221, 241 will come into horizontal position along the axis Q2. Thefirst pair is then selected as stop mechanism for the drive system.

In accordance with an embodiment, the number of nut shaped mountingelements, herein also referred to as nut-shapes, and corresponding boltsis not fixed to four, but can also be larger or smaller. The number ofnut-shapes and corresponding bolts is even, in accordance with furtherembodiment, more in particular the nut-shapes and respective bolts comein pairs lying in line, or on the same diameter in case of a circularlyshaped supporting plate or disk 210. As an example, the supporting plateor disk 210 is e.g. provided with eight nut-shapes and correspondingbolts, or either four pairs of nut-shapes with respective bolts. Supposetwo pairs are added to the configuration of FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, just inbetween the existing first pair and second pair in a radial symmetricmanner, such that the nut-shapes with bolts form a regular octagon. Theselection for horizontal position of a pair, i.e. selecting themechanical stop mechanism or protrusion wanted, can now occur every 45°turning the plate 210 around its axis A.

With FIG. 3 another embodiment in accordance with the invention isillustrated. Here an adjustable mechanical stop 300 is shown for use atanother position of a food baking apparatus, comprising compressible,i.e. movable dies, indicating a possible movement of the dies e.g.bringing them closer towards each other or further away from each other,during which compression takes place. The stop 300 is now occurring inthe neighbourhood of the upper and lower die 360, 370 for regulating oradjusting the position therein between, and herein after also referredto as drive stopper, more in particular here referred to as verticaldrive stopper. With the design and positioning of mechanical adjustablestop 300, the drive system or punch is stopped along vertical direction,i.e. along the adjustable spacing direction of the movable dies. Inother words, the vertical stopper is acting along a (more or less)vertical direction. The same adjustable mechanical stop 300 is depictedin FIG. 3(a) and FIG. 3(b) although the position of one of thecomponents, the mounting elements 320, 330 in particular, has changed.As indicated in FIG. 3(a) the adjustable mechanical stop 300 comprises asupporting system, in this instance a plate 310, onto which two mountingelements 320, 330 are movably mounted, and each of said mountingelements comprises rod-shaped 321, 322, 331, 332 protrusions. Themounting elements 320, 330 comprise two rod-shaped protrusions each, andthe rod-shaped protrusion may differ in length, i.e. in amount ofprotrusion. A first mounting element 320 on one end of the supportingplate 310 comprises the rod-shaped protrusions 321, 322 whereinrod-shaped protrusion 321 is shorter or is less protruding thanrod-shaped protrusion 322. A second mounting element 330 is mounted onthe other end of the supporting plate 310, whereas this second mountingelement 330 is identical in shape and size, including rod-shapedprotrusions 331, 332, to the first mounting element 320 with rod-shapedprotrusions 321, 322. Referring further to FIG. 3(a), both first andsecond mounting element 320, 330 are positioned such that the rod-shapedprotrusions 322, 332 with longest protrusion are so-called selected,meaning that they are touching the lower surface 380 onto which thelower die 370 is mounted. In this position of mounting elements 320, 330and hence selected rod-shaped protrusions 322, 332, a distance d1between upper and lower die 370, 380 is present. The punching lowersurface 380 is for instance raised by means of a hydraulic drive systemthere beneath. Both mounting elements 320, 330 can be shifted ortranslated within the supporting plate 310 to another position along theaxis T, being perpendicular to the direction of the rod-shapedprotrusions. For this mounting piece shifting of translatingcorresponding recesses 311, 312 are provided at each end of thesupporting plate 310. Whenever shifting or translating the mountingelements 320, 330 in the direction of the arrow of axis T, anotherposition can be achieved, as shown in FIG. 3(b). In this latter, bothfirst and second mounting element 320, 330 are now positioned such thatthe rod-shaped protrusions 321, 331 with shortest protrusion aretouching the lower surface 380 onto which the lower die 370 is mounted.In this position of mounting elements 320, 330 and thus selectedrod-shaped protrusions 321, 331, a shorter distance d2 between upper andlower die 370, 380 is accomplished.

This mechanical horizontal drive stopper can be combined in a foodbaking apparatus with the mechanical vertical drive stopper as hereindescribed. Thus in a further aspect of the invention a food bakingapparatus is provided, comprising a horizontal drive stopper and avertical drive stopper according to the invention.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a mechanical adjustabledrive stopper (for a food baking apparatus) is provided acting along afirst direction, and another mechanical adjustable drive stopper (for afood baking apparatus) is provided acting along a second direction.According to a further embodiment, further (or multiple) mechanicaladjustable drive stoppers (for a food baking apparatus) can be providedacting along a further direction. Having a plurality of mechanicaladjustable drive stoppers within one food baking apparatus, acting alongmultiple different directions, may enable fine-tuning and highlyaccurate adjustability of the driving system, or herewith controlledcompression mechanism, in particular referring to e.g. multiple ordouble compression or partial press mechanism.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustable mechanical stop for controlling thedie spacing of a food baking apparatus, the mechanical stop comprising:a supporting system and at least one mounting element mounted onto thesupporting system wherein the supporting system and/or the at least onemounting element are adjustable in spatial position, being movable fortranslation and/or rotation; wherein each of the at least one mountingelement comprises one or more protrusions, and wherein per mountingelement the one or more protrusions are adjustable in amount ofprotrusion, and/or the protrusions differ in amount of protrusionamongst each other.
 2. The adjustable mechanical stop according to claim1, wherein each of the at least one mounting element, comprising each atleast two protrusions differing in amount of protrusion amongst eachother, is movable along an axis being perpendicular to the protrusionsof the at least one mounting element.
 3. The adjustable mechanical stopaccording to claim 2, wherein the at least one mounting element ismovable by a mechanical, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulically drivensystem.
 4. The adjustable mechanical stop according to claim 1, whereinthe supporting system is rotatable around an axis being parallel withthe one or more protrusions of the at least one mounting element.
 5. Theadjustable mechanical stop according to claim 4, wherein the at leastone mounting element comprises one protrusion each being adjustable inamount of protrusion by a motorized system.
 6. The adjustable mechanicalstop according to claim 4, wherein at least two mounting elements aremounted onto the supporting system, and wherein the at least twomounting elements are even in number, being mounted onto the supportingsystem per pair in a circular symmetric manner.
 7. The adjustablemechanical stop according to claim 6, wherein each pair of mountingelements comprises a first mounting element comprising a firstprotrusion and a second mounting element comprising a second protrusion,and wherein the first mounting element and corresponding firstprotrusion is positioned diametrically opposite to the second mountingelement and corresponding second protrusion.
 8. The adjustablemechanical stop according to claim 6, wherein the protrusions of themounting elements differ in amount of protrusion per pair of themounting elements.
 9. The adjustable mechanical stop according to claim1, wherein the supporting system is plate or disk shaped.
 10. Theadjustable mechanical stop according to claim 1, wherein the protrusionsare rod or bolt shaped.
 11. A food baking apparatus comprising theadjustable mechanical stop according to claim
 1. 12. A method forcontrolling the distance between a first die and a second die of a foodbaking apparatus, where in between a food product is baked, the methodcomprising: (i) providing the adjustable mechanical stop according toclaim 1; (ii) putting the supporting system and/or the at least onemounting element in a first position; and (iii) driving the supportingsystem and/or the at least one mounting element towards a secondposition.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein prior to (ii)per mounting element the one or more protrusions are adjusted in amountof protrusion; and/or the method further comprising (iv) driving thesupporting system and/or the at least one mounting element towards aneven further position.
 14. The method according to claim 12, wherein themethod is applied during one and the same food baking process.
 15. Afood baking process based on double or multiple compression, the processcomprising: providing the adjustable mechanical stop according to claim1, and/or a cracker, chip or food product made by the food bakingprocess.